Manipur: CBI arrests six for killing two youths that led to violent protests

Six people were arrested in connection with the “kidnapping and killing” of two Manipuri youths, which led to violent protests in the northeastern state last week, Chief Minister N Biren Singh said on Sunday.

The government will ensure the maximum punishment, including the death penalty, for them, Singh said. “I’m pleased to share that some of the main culprits responsible for the abduction and murder of Phijam Hemanjit and Hijam Linthoingambi have been arrested from Churachandpur today.”

“As the saying goes, one may abscond after committing the crime, but they cannot escape the long hands of the law. We are committed to ensuring maximum punishment, including capital punishment, for the heinous crime they have committed,” the chief minister posted on Twitter.

Four of those arrested have been flown to Guwahati in Assam. After nabbing them, the forces drove swiftly to the airport, where a CBI team was waiting for them. The CBI team and the suspects took the last flight out of Imphal around 5.45 pm.

The CBI has been looking into this case already, though the bodies of the two students, a male and a female, are yet to be found. Investigators are also looking into allegations of rape before the girl was murdered. The photos that went viral showed the two students sitting at the grassy compound of what appears to be a makeshift jungle camp of an armed group.

The two youths had gone missing on July 6, while photos of their bodies surfaced on September 25. Following this, violent protests by students rocked the state capital on September 26 and 27. A mob tried to attack the ancestral house of the chief minister on the night of September 28, but security forces foiled the attempt.

In a separate incident, a mob also vandalised the deputy commissioner’s office in Imphal West district and torched two four-wheelers in the early hours of the same day.

(With agency inputs)